Jack

Flaherty

He struck out five and walked two. Flaherty was brilliant over the first five innings, allowing just the one hit over those frames. Unfortunately, he got only two runs of support, and he saw that lead go away when he gave up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the sixth before exiting. Still, a solid start for Flaherty against his former team and one of the best lineups in baseball. The 29-year-old likely faces the lowly White Sox next weekend.

Flaherty ends the spring with a 3.94 ERA, but six of the seven runs he allowed came in one outing; he gave up 11 hits and one homer and posted a 16/6 K/BB in 16 innings overall. He’s all set to follow Tarik Skubal in the Tigers rotation and start Friday against the Dodgers.

Flaherty struck out six and walked two. His velocity was again a little better than last year’s averages, and he got 14 missed swings in the 79-pitch outing. While this lifts his spring ERA to 6.30, there’s nothing to be discouraged about here.

Flaherty struck out three and walked two in an easy outing. Last year’s playoff struggles seemed to take a toll on his free agent market, as his stuff was definitely a little off in October, but his batteries seem recharged now.

Flaherty struck out two and walked two. Even though he signed late, his velocity today was right at last season’s averages. His spin rates were down across the board, but that probably doesn’t mean much at this point.

It’ll probably be a one-year, $25 million deal unless something goes awry. The player option for 2026 starts at $10 million and jumps to $20 million once Flaherty makes 15 starts. Flaherty opened last year with the Tigers, going 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 stats before being traded to the Dodgers. He was 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts overall. Flaherty’s return means that, barring injury, there’s going to be just one spot in the Tigers rotation available for Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Brant Hurter, Matt Manning and Keider Montero. Maeda and Hurter will likely have bullpen spots awaiting them, but some of the others figure to open in the minors.

The deal includes an opt-out for Flaherty if he chooses to exercise it. He’ll earn $25 million in 2025 and then has a $10 million option for the 2026 season that will jump to $20 million if he makes 15 starts in 2025. The 29-year-old hurler spent the first half of the 2024 season with the Tigers before getting dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline and helping his new club win the World Series. The Tigers picked up a strong pair of prospects in the deal and now get the added benefit of Flaherty returning to slide in behind Tarik Skubal at the top of their rotation. As we saw in the first half of 2024, pitching in Detroit is about as good of a situation as it gets for Flaherty’s fantasy value.

The free agent right-hander is still searching for a new home with only 20 days remaining until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. Of the Tigers, he mentioned, “We had conversations. I loved it there. I thought the combo of me and Skub (Tarik Skubal) was incredible.. We’ve been talking to them and talking to other teams. It would be fun to go back there.” The Blue Jays, Cubs and Giants have also been linked to Flaherty over the past couple of weeks and the 29-year-old hurler is reportedly considering a short-term contract with a high average annual value, which could bring other teams into the mix as well.

The market has been surprisingly quiet on Flaherty over the past couple of weeks, though the Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants and Tigers have been mentioned as teams that were in the mix for his services. If it’s a short-term deal, that could open up the possibilities even further. It’s entirely possible that Flaherty is waiting until Roki Sasaki ultimately signs, to drive up the urgency of the teams that miss out.

The Orioles were known to have interest in a reunion as well, but Flaherty didn’t enjoy his time there and they moved on to sign Charlie Morton on Friday. The 29-year-old hurler is believed to be seeking a five-year contract worth north of $100 million. He turned his career around with a strong first half with the Tigers during the 2024 season before being dealt to the Dodgers in a deadline deal, so a return to Motown would seem to make a great deal of sense for both sides provided that owner Chris Ilitch is willing to open up his wallet.